What Is the Fastest-Growing Plastic Surgery Procedure in America?

by
April Maguire

As researchers gather statistics from last year, it is becoming clear 2015 was another record-setting year for plastic surgery. In the last decade, cosmetic enhancements have reached an unprecedented level of popularity, both in the United States and abroad. While some of this growing popularity involves classic surgical procedures, such as breast augmentation and liposuction, by far the most popular procedures are of the non-invasive variety. Overall, the plastic surgery landscape in 2015 looks similar to recent years, but one procedure is gaining in popularly at a surprising pace.

Most Popular Surgical Procedures

In the last 15 years, cosmetic procedures have increased in popularity more than 115%, and last year almost 16 million procedures were performed in the United States alone. Even though surgical procedures only make up a small portion of that number, the popularity for these invasive surgeries is continuing to rise at a steady rate.

Last year, the most popular surgical procedure in the U.S. was breast augmentation, with nearly 280,000 procedures performed. In second place was liposuction, with 222,000, and right behind that was nose reshaping with more than 217,000 procedures. Rounding out the top five were eyelid surgery and tummy tucks, at 203,000 and 128,000 respectively.

Most Popular Minimally Invasive Procedures

Without question, the vast majority of the cosmetic procedures performed in the United States are minimally invasive. When compared to surgical procedures, these minimally invasive options can be done for a fraction of the cost, and they require little to no recovery time.

Far and away, the most popular minimally invasive procedure is Botox injections, with more than 6.7 million performed last year. All told, injections of Botox accounted for roughly 40% of the total amount of cosmetic procedures performed in 2015. Also high on the list of minimally invasive treatments were filler injections at 2.4 million, chemical peels at 1.3 million and laser hair removal at 1.1 million.

Fastest-Growing Procedure

Surprisingly, the fastest-growing cosmetic procedure in the United States is buttock implants. With stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj gaining fame for their ample backsides, more and more women are seeking surgery to increase the size of their own posteriors. Last year, surgeons performed more than 2,500 buttock implant procedures. This number may not sound like much in the grand scheme of things, but that represents a more than 30% increase over the year before.

Overall, 2015 continued the upward trend for cosmetic enhancement in the United States. If this trend continues, 2016 will be another record-breaking year for the plastic surgery industry.

If you or someone you know would like to learn more about plastic surgery, please feel free to schedule a consultation or contact one of our representatives today!